ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI Deliver TRX40 Motherboards For AMD Threadripper 3970X And 3960X
The wait is finally over—AMD on Thursday formally introduced its next generation Ryzen Threadripper lineup consisting of the 24-core/48-thread Threaderipper 3960X and 32-core/64-thread Threadripper 3970X (there will likely be more SKUs to follow). Following suit, AMD's hardware partners have come out with new TRX40 motherboards to house this next round of high-end desktop (HEDT) silicon, including multiple models from ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI.
The TRX40 platform is stout. It offers quad-channel DDR4 memory support (ECC optional), a total of 88 PCI Express 4.0 lanes, multi-GPU support (CrossFire and SLI), up to 12 native USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, up to 4 native USB 2.0 ports, two x4 NVMe ports, up to 20 SATA ports with RAID 0/1/10 support, NVMe RAID support, and a few other odds and ends.
ASUS Cranks Out Several AMD TRX40 Platform Motherboards For Threadripper
Starting with ASUS, the company has rolled out three TRX40 motherboards so far. The one you see at the top of this article is the ROG Zenith II Extreme. ASUS considers this model as an "ode" to 3D artists and CAD professionals who "might be working on their next masterpiece while rending out an incredibly complex finished project at the same time." It's also a hat tip to media pros and gaming personalities, from a marketing standpoint.
ASUS says the styling "strikes a balance between industrial power and gamer-friendly flash." RGB lighting is part of the package, as is a decorative panel atop the I/O shield with a holographic Infinity Lighting motif. Beyond all the visual fluff, this is an Extended ATX (EATX) motherboard with eight DDR4 DIMM slots, four PCIe x16 slots, a generous five M.2 slots, eight SATA 6Gbps ports, an Aquantia ACQ-107 10G Ethernet port, a 1Gbps LAN port, Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) + Blueooth 5 wireless connectivity, and a host of USB ports.
ASUS also rolled out a couple of toned down (but still high-end) TRX40 motherboards, the ROG Strix TRX40-E Gaming (top left) and Prime TRX40-Pro (top right). As the name implies, the ROG Strix RTX40-E Gaming is aimed at gamers. It lacks a 10G Ethernet port and has fewer options all around, though still brings to the table eight DDR4 DIMM slots, three PCIe x16 ports, a PCIe x4 slot, three M.2 slots, eight SATA 6Gbps ports, and a bunch of USB ports. It also dual wired LAN ports—one is a standard 1Gbps port and the other is a 2.5G port, in addition to Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 for wireless chores.
The Prime TRX40-Pro is a workhorse. It trades some bells and whistles (there's no RGB) lighting for a low frills approach building an HEDT PC. It offers eight DDR4 DIMM slots, three PCIe x16 slots, a PCIe x4 slot, three M.2 slots, eight SATA 6Gbps ports, a single 1Gbps LAN port, and a bunch of USB ports. It does not have built-in Wi-Fi.
Pricing and availability have not been announced and will vary by model.
Gigabyte And MSI Blitz Third-Gen Threadripper With Multiple TRX40 Motherboards
Gigabyte launched multiple TRX40 motherboards as well, including the TRX40 Aorus Xtreme (shown above), TRX40 Aorus Master, TRX40 Aorus Pro, and TRX40 Designare.
The TRX40 Aorus Xtreme is the flagship model of the bunch. It features a 16+3 phase design and has a NanoCarbon baseplate. It also offers dual 10GbE LAN ports for ultra-fast wired connectivity and Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth 5 for wireless chores.
"Gigabyte has worked closely with AMD since the start of the development of 3rd gen AMD Ryzen Threadripper processors and the TRX40 chipset to develop a series of motherboards that capitalize on the full potential of this enthusiast-grade platform," said Jackson Hsu, director of the Gigabyte channel solutions product development division. "3rd gen AMD Ryzen Threadripper processors continue to build on the huge success of the groundbreaking line of CPUs and our boards feature some of the most impressive power and thermal designs to fully unleash the power of these CPUs. We’ve also upgraded our PCIe design so users can enjoy true PCIe 4.0 performance at its best."
Gigabyte went all-out on this one. It features eight DDR4 DIMM slots supporting up to 256GB of quad-channel memory, four PCIe x16 slots, four M.2 slots, 10 SATA 6Gbps ports, a bunch of USB ports, and a decked out onboard audio scheme with a 130dB SNR AMP.
There are too many motherboards to cover while keeping things somewhat codense, but you can check out Gigabyte's full lineup here. Pricing and availability of these models have not been announced.
MSI also unloaded multiple TRX40 motherboards. They include the Creator TRX40, TRX40 Pro 10G, and TRX 40 Pro WiFi.
Details are a bit scarce on the latter two, but as for the Creator TRX40, it boasts a 16-phase power design and offers eight DDR4 DIMM slots, 10GbE LAN and 1Gbps LAN connectivity, Wi-Fi 6, four PCIe x16 slots, three M.2 slots, six SATA 6Gbps ports, and several USB ports.
This one also comes with an M.2 Xpander-Aero add-in card that adds four more M.2 slots. There's also a visual crystal accent that is unique to this board.
"To meet the most demanding requirements for content creation processes, Creator TRX40 motherboard is well-designed in every respect. In terms of design, the concept follows the craft of 'crystal'. The crystal design reflects the light magically with millions of color effects. Creator TRX40 also features the best hardware design for maximum performance and long-lasting operation," MSI says.
As with the others, pricing and availability on MSI's motherboards have not been announced.
